There exist more than 4,500 plant species that live as parasites on other plants. Some of them cause great damage to agriculture, even leading to the complete failure of crops. Researchers working with Dr Markus Albert at ...

The only constant is change. In evolution, there are, however, some exceptions. While the enormous diversity of life suggests that organisms are constantly being refitted with new or modified parts, many of the tools used ...

We all know that animals have an immune system - but plants have systems to fight infection too. Plant cells have receptor proteins which bind with parts of a pathogen. These receptor proteins are located on the surface of ...

Land-based plants—including the fruits and vegetables in your kitchen—produce and respond to hormones in order to survive. Scientists once believed that hormone signaling machinery only existed in these relatively complex ...

(Phys.org) —As humanity faces more mouths to feed thanks to a swelling global population, new research has taken a step toward employing genes from blue-green algae to improve staple crop photosynthesis – a potential ...

Coconut dust may not be fairy dust, but in southern India, the substance is creating healthy crops. A Virginia Tech-led program is showing farmers that the material, derived from husks, is great potting soil for seedlings. ...

For the ancient ancestors of plants and animals, a partnership with other microbes was once formed during an endosymbiotic event to give rise to eukaryotes. Plants and animals, over billions of years of trial and error, made ...